Optera, the ESG and carbon management software provider, has released its latest trend report, shining a light on the challenges and priorities large corporations face in managing their emissions and fostering an environmentally sustainable future.
In partnership with B2B market research firm NewtonX, Optera surveyed nearly 100 corporate sustainability leaders to generate the report. The 2023 trend report ‘Corporate Emissions in 2023: Large Organizations’ Top Challenges & Priorities‘ provides insight into the current landscape of corporate sustainability efforts.
Optera is a trusted sustainability partner to corporations across the globe, with an aim to enable the corporate sector to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Its latest research highlights the necessity of tools, alignment, and collaboration across value chains to empower sustainability practitioners to address climate risk in their organisations and build a more sustainable future.
In the report, Optera reveals that emission reduction and regulatory compliance are currently top priorities. Around one-third of respondents reported emissions reduction project implementation as the most pressing task this year. Compliance with regulations and verification came close behind, with 25 per cent of respondents citing it as their top priority.
The trend report also found that emission inventory processes are on the rise. The study revealed that 72 per cent of organisations have undergone at least one emission inventory process. An additional 16 per cent also calculated their corporate emissions for the first time this year.
Room to improve
Despite these efforts, sustainability leaders remain concerned about inaccurate emissions data. Less than 30 per cent of respondents use tools that address the most common data issues. Incomplete and inaccurate data is holding sustainability leaders back from comprehensive, high-fidelity emissions data collection and analysis.
Tim Weiss, co-founder and CEO of Optera
In total, 35 per cent of respondents selected ‘Deeper analysis and management of Scope 3 emissions’ as one of their top two priorities for the coming year. This was also true for larger organisations, with 42 per cent of companies making more than $10billion in annual revenue ranking this as a top two priority, compared to 17 per cent of organisations with less than $1billion in annual revenue.
Tim Weiss, co-founder and CEO of Optera, said: “The push for corporations to quantify their environmental impact is mounting in light of regulatory actions and pressure from shareholders and partners. Optera’s report reveals quantifying Scope 3 emissions, which make up an average of 75 per cent of a company’s carbon footprint, is a top priority among sustainability professionals, particularly at larger corporations”.
Optera also found that the financial services industry is behind in introducing emissions reduction programs when compared to other industries. Fifty-two per cent of respondents in the manufacturing industry ranked implementing reduction initiatives as their top priority, compared to just 14 per cent in financial services.
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